“What?” Ryoma asked.

          “I know this is too much to ask of you and considering how I’ve treated you since you came here but I need your help. If you don’t want to help or if it’s too much of a bother for you, it’s okay. But it would help Roselia and I would be indebted to you if you ever decide to lend me your skill. Please consider helping me”, Yukina said.

          “Slow down a bit. I get that you need my help. But how can I help you?”

          “Help me make a song”

          Ryoma was taken aback by what she said. He remembered that the help of outsiders wasn’t needed when she made songs.

          “Does this have something to do with your broken laptop?” he asked.

          “Yes”, she answered.

          Yukina explained what happened. She needed her laptop to make the song but it would take a month for it to be repaired.

          “I see. What can I do to help you?” Ryoma asked.

          “Play your guitar while I sing”, Yukina told him.

          They entered Yukina’s room. Ryoma wasn’t surprised with what he saw. There was a shelf filled with books and there was a small cabinet with music albums. Some candy wrappers could be found here and there.

          Yukina immediately picked up the wrappers and took them to the trash. For some reason, she was feeling uncomfortable with the fact that Ryoma was in his room and so, she did a quick clean up.

          Why am I feeling this way? Yukina thought.

          “Maybe we should just do it in the living room”, Ryoma said since he noticed Yukina was getting conscious of her room.

          “There’s no problem doing it here. Let’s not waste time and begin”, Yukina told him as she sat on the bed and opened her notebook.

          Ryoma sat down and prepared his guitar.

          “All I have to do is find the appropriate chords to match your lyrics while you sing them. Is that right?” Ryoma asked.

          “Yes. My bandmates and I will find the corresponding bass, drums, and keyboard versions of the chords you made”, Yukina answered.

          “Okay. Let me hear what you’ve got so far”

(Opera of the Wasteland)

(By: Roselia)

Far away...

Mune ni takanari wo suikonde

Ten wo aogi hajimari wo hajimeyou

Kiba wo muku mono ga machikamaeru meikyū e

Anata no me osore wo keshisaru wa

Nigeru to iu sentaku wa hajime kara nai

"I am not afraid" ima omoidase inochi wo

Iku oku ikusen tsumuida kiseki ni

Densetsu wa koko kara umareta

          She finished singing.

          Ryoma couldn’t help but clap. Her voice was powerful and captivating. But he felt uncertainty in her singing.

          “Are you perhaps doubting yourself?” he blurted out.

          “Excuse me?”

          “W-Wait. I mean… Your voice and song are wonderful! It’s just that when you sang, you were like ummm…”

          Yukina waited for him to continue. He instantly knew about the slump she was in just from hearing her sing.

          “Well. Let’s leave it at that!” Ryoma said in a carefree manner.

          “Wait! Please tell me!” Yukina grabbed his shoulders.

          It took her a second to realize that she was close to him. Her perception of him from a “musician” changed into a “man” and she got flustered.

          “S-Sorry!” she stuttered and went back to sitting on the bed.

          “It’s okay. Anyway, you want to know want I think about your singing that badly?”

          Yukina nodded and Ryoma tried to put what he felt into words.

          “The way you sang showed that you had a lot of practice. Your emotions could be felt when you sang”, he said.

          Yukina knew that.

          “…… But you are doing nothing”

          “What do you mean?”

          Ryoma thought again.

          “It’s like… how do you put it… ummm… I can’t explain it!” he gave up.

          “Please think about it! I really need to know!”

          “But like I told you, it’s hard!”

          Yukina took a deep breath.

          “If you find the words for it, can you tell me the reason?” she calmed down.

          “O-Okay”, Ryoma answered.

          “Let’s get back to our session. Is there anything…” she trailed off.

          Ryoma was wearing earphones and listening to music while strumming. The clear sound of his guitar dominated the room. He would occasionally make sudden shifts in chords in order to find the correct ones. Then he would pause his phone and start it from the beginning.

          “So… that’s a B, C#, D#m, and F... Hmmm… Wait… I think it’s an F#”. he muttered and strummed again.

          “Definitely an F#”, he confirmed.

          He continued on strumming as he listened while Yukina watched him. Since she was doing nothing, she couldn’t help but stare at him. His fingers gracefully shifted from one chord to another and his plucking made the strings of the guitar resonate a beautiful melody.

          Is he cute or handsome? Lisa’s question popped in her mind.

          She looked at him. His somewhat curly blue hair intrigued her since it was messy in an orderly fashion. The boy’s amber eyes looked different from the Ryoma she previously saw. Those amber eyes were serious and showed that the boy was capturing every detail of the song and at the same time, finding a chord that would match it.

          “Hey”, he called out.

          “…Yes?” Yukina noticed that she stared too much and was afraid he would scold her.

          “Can you sing again?” Ryoma asked.

          “Of course”, she answered and began singing.

          Her voice was accompanied by his guitar. It was a strange feeling. For some reason, her voice felt different. Every note she makes sounded powerful and beautiful considering that she had high standards. She also felt Ryoma’s presence. His guitar was not only supporting her voice and her voice didn’t overshadow his sound. Both of their skills combined and formed a song.

          When they finished, Yukina could feel her heartbeat. The experience was amazing. Even when she performed with Roselia, she didn’t feel that way. What she felt was the feeling she was searching for… or at least it was similar to it.

          “Hmmm… I guess it’s a bit off”, Ryoma said.

          “What?” Yukina asked in surprise.

          She would’ve acknowledged that level already.

          “Well… I was a bit off here and there and some chords just don’t match up. The only reason it worked was because of your beautiful voice”, Ryoma reasoned.

          Yukina didn’t notice his mistakes since she was too caught up in singing and feeling the moment.

          “Sorry for asking but… are you in a slump or something?” Ryoma asked.

          “What are you saying?”

          “All this time, your mind seemed to be drifting among the clouds. But when we started playing, you were shining”

          “Shining?”

          “Sorry sorry. That’s what my friend back in my old town used to well… call awesome things. What I meant was that you were stunning both in looks and sound while you sang. In other words, you were shining!” Ryoma gave her a thumbs-up.

          His words sounded sincere so Yukina couldn’t help but smile.

          “At least I got the gist already. All I need now is to experiment with the chords”, he stood up.

          “Where are you going?”

          “To my room? Unless you want me to spend hours here. A normal girl wouldn’t want a stranger to stay in her room, right?”

          Yukina’s now saw him as a “man” instead of a “musician”. She became conscious of herself and her plain room.

          “Don’t worry, I’ll help you out! You can count on me”, Ryoma assured her.

          “I… Thank you”, she said.

          He waved goodbye and got out of the room.

          “How is she?” Yukina’s dad, who was waiting in the hallway, asked.

          “Her voice… it is like a beautiful katana”, Ryoma answered.

          “So it’s powerful and a piece of art huh?”

          “And like any blade, it was beaten over and over again. She must have suffered a lot. And right now, I could tell that she’s lost”

          Silence ruled between the two of them.

          “Well… I gotta get to work and finish her song. Also, I have homework to do and some studying for college. Ahh… This life is hard”, Ryoma sighed.

          “You’re already complaining? When you become an adult, you’ll have a lot more to deal with”

          Ryoma laughed and went to his room.

          In her room, Yukina was lying on her bed. She thought about what she felt.

          A normal girl wouldn’t want a stranger to stay in her room, she remembered what he said.

          For some reason, Ryoma no longer felt like a stranger to her. It was like she had a meaningful conversation with him when they were playing together. While she was feeling that indescribable feeling, she also felt something coming from him. It was like he was hearing a sound from him. A distinct sound.

          A sound of loneliness.